Chains and Shackles
by keymasterdan
Summary: She has shackles around her neck, binding her arms and legs. She has fear in her heart, binding her heart and soul. But she has hope in her eyes, and she knows, she will get those kids out. Even when she's chained to the ground, she's never been the type to give in because she might not be strong, but she'll shatter those chains and shackles.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N:**_ _ **I just couldn't help it. Magi is like my thing right now. I was planning on writing one after I did the chapters of my current stories but oh well. We get this instead. It's mostly a random OC in the Magi universe and doesn't feature main characters. It occurs during Sinbad no Bouken's time frame, and contains spoilers (of sorts) of the manga. Enjoy!**_

* * *

She was tired.

So, so tired.

She honestly had no idea how she had got to the strange place, or how she had even allowed herself to get captured in the first place. She groggily opened her eyes and looked around, trying to pinpoint where the heck she was. However, the moment her eyes adjusted to the light, she knew she wasn't anywhere near Heliohapt anymore considering the lush greenery and the cobblestone roads. She also realized that her arms and feet were bound by chains, which wasn't exactly a pleasant feeling. She squirmed around, trying to get comfortable on the hard surface that she rested on. A cell, if the bars were any clue.

Finally deciding enough was enough, she removed her face from where it was firmly pressed into the bars and looked around. There were a few other children but it wasn't that packed. From the limited information she had about slaves, she was sure that it would have been filled to the point it was uncomfortable. It was actually not as bad as expected other than the fact that a blue haired boy was pressed against her side since the cage wasn't very big.

The other people in the cage quickly drew her attention. There was the blue haired kid who despite being bigger than her, was curled in on himself, crying like a small child. A few girls with hair of varying shades of orange were huddled together, utterly silent and right next to a sleeping boy with caramel skin that made him look like he could have been from Heliohapt if it wasn't for the mocha brown hair which was nothing like Heliohapt's native hair that as usually white or an incredibly light blonde. Separated from the rest of the children, and tied down with more chains that had heavy weights on them, were two identical boys. Their bright red hair and matching eyes startled her at first but afterwards, she ignored it and instead looked at the way one of them tried to hammer on the other one's dented restraints, even though he struggled to even move his arm with the weights that locked him in place.

She gazed out the bars again to see her surroundings. They were entering an underground pathway and she bounced every time the carriage hit a bump. It was now dark and humid, making her feel like the air was sticking to her skin. She shifted around, causing the boy who was next to her to jolt. Golden eyes darted to her as his sobs stopped abruptly and turned into quiet hiccups. They stared at each other for a while before she averted her gaze. Something about his cat-like eyes unnerved her, she didn't like it.

She was uncomfortable.

So, so uncomfortable.

"Oi, all of you!" How could she not have been focusing. Instead of staring at the other occupants, she should have focused on her surroundings. They've reached their destination and she still has no idea where they could even possibly be. "Get out of there."

As the girls and the boy with blue hair complied with the men, she was so happy she was on the far right corner so she had a little more time to prepare herself. One fair-haired man with a ponytail came and grabbed the sleeping boy and dragged him out of the cage before moving over to grab the red haired boys. Immediately, the boy who hadn't just been wasting energy trying to break the chains snarled at him. The man sneered at him before raising a whip. The other boy also hissed angrily at this but with less energy. He probably wasted it all when he was punching the chains.

"Who do you think you are?!" He brought the whip down but was stopped by a slender hand. He turned and paled at the sight of a woman with long hair and a terrifying smile. "Maader!"

"Fatima. You know better than to hurt them, since these ones are rare nowadays. _Especially_ those two." Fatima nodded meekly before gesturing at the boys.

"But they refuse to exit the cart." Maader sighed, as if disappointed in Fatima's words.

"They have restraints on, they won't be a problem." Suddenly, the woman seemed to noticed her as Fatima managed to somehow drag the other children, kicking and biting, out of the cage. "Oh, you missed one. Come here little one."

She was hesitant but seeing how the others would have been treated when they disobeyed, she moved over and got out of the cage.

She was scared.

So, so scared.

"That's all of the ones from the special places. The rest are coming later." The driver of the carriage said before departing the way he came. She gazed around and gasped. So many children were in cages and the like around the room. It was almost frightening to see how afraid and sad they looked.

"Very good. I see we have gotten quite a few! There's children from Imuchakk, Atrixa, Heliohapt, Naybeth and even two Fanalis. Twins, maybe? They will sell well once they become more obedient. How did we even get all of them?"

"Well apparently, a man found the Imuchakk brat lying on a block of ice, injured and unconscious so he took him in. He sent the..." She didn't to the rest of what the teenage boy said while he was pulling out a vial of familiar green liquid and forcing the two red haired boys to drink it. It only took her a few seconds to realize it was a local medicine from her home. _'How did they get that?'_ After a short struggle, the boys' movements got slower and heavier until they eventually fell asleep. "We found the Fanalis and Heliohaptian kids. They were in the dark continent, looking for the Torrans again, when they found this little girl..."

She had not been listening to most of the conversation but had perked up when they began talking about her. Before she could finish listening to what they said about her, she was grabbed roughly and tugged along.

* * *

Cold.

It was so, so cold.

She hugged herself tightly, trying to lock in all the warmth that she could. The water swirled around her feet as she slid down the wall, curling into a small ball. Tears had already began to pool as she got colder and colder.

She didn't even understand why she had been locked in here. She had known better than to disobey when she knew that these people wouldn't hesitate to hurt her, seeing as she was just a mere slave. She knew better than to trust them either so the moment she had heard the order, she followed the instruction with a fake smile before bolting. However, this seemed to anger Maader and she had been sent to be punished.

Of course, at first she didn't really mind being in solitude. In fact, she enjoyed the quiet time so she could relax and try to remember what exactly happened for her to get into this situation.

She hadn't been able to trace much before she noticed water being poured into the room. Her mind had raced at the thought of them drowning her and she was immediately terrified. But then, the water had reached almost knee deep before it was cut off. She was about to sigh in relief before she suddenly remembered the medical knowledge that had been drilled into her since she was tiny.

 _'The water is going to sap my heat away.'_ She knew and thus, she was filled with even more terror than before because she knew how bad this was. It wasn't going to be like drowning at all. It was going to be a slow, painful death by lowering her body temperature until she wouldn't be able to function. THis scared her more than she could imagine.

She had pounded on the door, screamed as loud as she could, apologized, pleaded. But still, they refused to open the door.

Now here she was, sitting in the cold water, trying pathetically to warm herself up by moving body and keeping her head above the surface. She was still muttering apologies but not to have them forgive her anymore. Instead, it was so that she could keep her lips warm and possibly stop her teeth chattering. Her eyelids drooped and she began to sway. ' _Why would they torture me?'_ She thought. _'I did nothing wrong.'_ She assured herself. _' What have I done to deserve this?'_ She didn't know. But she did know one thing.

She knew she wouldn't make it and it broke her.

* * *

And that was when her saviour came. Like a light in a never-ending darkness. Like an oasis in a desert.

Arms reached out to lift her out of her watery prison. She was covered in the warmest robes as she was seated in front of the fire in a woman's lap.

It was warm.

So, so warm.

She nuzzled into the arms of her hero as they embraced her, encasing her in the wings of an angel. She was babbling senselessly but the owner of the warmth didn't seem to mind in the slightest. The tears wouldn't stop flowing down her cheeks.

"Don't cry. Mother's here with you." The voice said and she melted at the sound feeling the heat of fingers brushing away her tears. It was filled with affection. With warmth. With... love. She gazed up into bright green eyes, reaching out to touch the woman's long white locks before retracting her hand to keep it in the warm blankets.

"Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you." She kept thanking the woman, clinging to her like a lifeline. A part of her mind said she was being pathetic. Another part said she was being an idiot. But in the warmth, the loving warmth, she didn't even care.

"You don't have to be scare. You're safe with me." The love in her voice was so gentle but definitely there. It cradled her, embraced her. She felt the longing of a mother, yet and the same time, a dull ache in her chest. _'It's a lot like my mother's voice,'_ she mused, closing her eyes. _'Even though she never spoke to me like that.'_

.

And that thought was enough to snap her out of her daze as she opened her eyes again. Those eyes weren't green, but a pale blue colour with dark sclera. The hairs on her head weren't her mother's straight white tresses but dark, purple curls. Her skin wasn't a scarred brown like the Heliohapt woman. Instead, it was doll-like and pale.

So, so pale.

This wasn't Miu Afrikaisi. This was Maader, a slave trader, and she had to get out of here before she fell under Maader's spell and never woke again. This woman was frightening. The woman had been yelling and even slapped the child away but now, Maader was acting as if she treasured her more than anything. She wasn't genuine. She was as fake as her smile looked.

"Tell me your name." Maader asked and briefly, she wondered how the woman was so stupid. How would you expect a child to believe you were their mother when you don't even know their name? Well, the sudden affection after torture did numb her mind to the fact this wasn't her real mother. Her mid was right, she was being stupid. She was tempted to spit at her or flee but, she didn't. Instead she smiled and continued to wrap herself up. She had no idea how to get out of here so she had to act for now. There was only so little a ten year old could do so, she had to wait and it wasn't too hard to get comfortable in the fluffy cloth. Her voice was barely over a whisper as she gave her name, averting her eyes so that Maader wouldn't see the resentment in them.

"Emuishere Afrikaisi."

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ _ **What am I even doing? I was writing chapter 17 of Phoenix Wing, I swear. But then, I read the next chapter of Magi: Sinbad no Bouken and next thing I know, I just had to write something for it. So, I probably won't write more for this but I just had to get this idea out. I can't believe I wrote a whole chapter without saying the character's name until the end! XD**_


	2. Chapter 2

**_A/N:_** ** _This chapter contains a sure-fire spoiler at the end so if you haven't gotten around chapter 81 of the Sinbad no Bouken manga, I suggest you read first before seeing this. Just in case!_**

The wind hit him suddenly like a sledgehammer yet the fresh feeling against his sweaty skin made him sigh in pleasure. The way his bare feet lightly sank in the warm sand or the way he enjoyed stepping on the occasional spots of cool mud. The sound of his brother's feet pounding along beside him and the earthy smell of dirt, herbs and strange plants. The sun beating down on him, probably tanning his light skin. And excited laughter, music to his ears.

But no.

That wasn't true.

It was the cold feel of steel on his wrists, ankles and neck. The immense weight of the steel balls attached to his chains, making his body feel as if it weighed tons. The way his body jolted with every bump and swayed with each turn of the carriage. The sound of his brother's light breathing as he slept in his lap and the different smells of other children mixed into one dizzyingly strong scent.

He looked down at Murad's sleeping face, gently stroking the spiky mess of hair. Considering how the buildings around them looked, they must have been somewhere like Reim. He wasn't exactly sure seeing as he had never been there, but he had been told many things by their father. At the thought of his father, his face contorted into a pained frown.

"Myke?" His eyes snapped down to his younger brother, surprised that the boy was awake. Murad attempted to raise his arm to rub at his eyes before his arm slammed back down. He glared at the restraints around his wrist. "Why am I chained up?"

"Slavers." Mykelti responded quickly, wincing when he noticed Murad's horrified expression. Mykelti was tempted to hug his brother and soothe him silently but decided against it. He had other priorities. "Give me your hands."

Murad sluggishly shifted his position so that his chained hands were on the floor in front of his twin. The boy noticed Mykelti's look that clearly stated 'don't move'. Mykelti lifted his arms before bringing them down onto the chains.

"What are you doing?" He got a grunt in response as Mykelti continued to hammer against his restraints. The loud noise had gotten the attention of the four girls sitting in the far corner. They stared in fear and wonder as his brother kept on hitting the chains.

"I'm trying to break these. Once they're broken, you can free me."

 _Clang!_

 _Clang!_

 _Clang!_

Murad cheered as the steel broke away, setting him free. He rubbed absentmindedly, at his bruised wrists before quickly moving to smash his foot shackles. After a short while, he managed to shatter them, allowing him to crawl over to Mykelti and begin breaking the restraints, denting them a lot faster than his twin because he didn't have the extra weight.

But no.

That wasn't true.

Mykelti was much stronger than Murad, physically, emotionally and mentally. But still, he couldn't break the chains that locked his brother. He tried but the weight was too much for the 9 year old. Even with the strength of a Fanalis and the scarce training he had gone through, he couldn't do it.

It was strange. Usually, even with the weights on, he should have been able to break the shackles with enough time but instead, his movements were not only weighted but also lethargic and slow. Instead he had needed to stop periodically before going back to punching, proving that something was wrong. Considering the bitter taste that stuck to the roof of his mouth, it must have been some kid of medicine.

Eventually, he quit, flopping onto his back and closing his eyes. The younger twin immediately moved so he was kneeling next to his brother. He grabbed Mykelti's hands, causing him to hiss and retract them from Murad's grip. Murad gasped as he noticed the red blooming on his brothers fists and moved over to blow on them in an attempt to help.

...

"Oi, all of you! Get out of there!" The two Fanalis didn't bother listening to the shout, instead, Murad stayed focused on bandaging his brother's hands with his ripped tunic. Mykelti noticed the other children begin to get out but didn't care too much. He had other priorities, like trying not to look weak even though he was in a lot of pain.

Mykelti glared at something behind them and Murad turned around to see a man with a white ponytail moving over to grab him. Murad snarled, causing the man to scowl deeply. As the whip was raised, Mykelti hissed at the man. The whip was swung down. Mykelti leapt over to cover Murad.

"Maader!"

Mykelti and Murad tried to calm themselves while the two adults were occupied in conversation. He hadn't even needed to protect his brother as a woman with long hair, and the creepiest smile he's ever seen, stopped the older male.

"He was going to whip us?" Murad murmured quietly, looking into his brother's red eyes with worry.

"Nobody is going to hurt you. I won't let them." Mykelti reassured. "We need to find a way to get out of-"

Mykelti was cut off as he was suddenly grabbed. Fatima tugged at the boy's clothing, causing Murad to angrily kick at him, while Mykelti bit his arm. Fatima shook Mykelti off, throwing him to the ground and throwing Murad towards him.

"Very good. I see we have gotten quite a few! There's children from Imuchakk, Atrixa, Heliohapt, Naybeth and even two Fanalis. Twins, maybe? They will sell well once they become more obedient. How did we even get all of them?" The purple haired woman said, giving each child a look. Murad's eyes looked in wonder at the different children. One with blue hair, four with red eyes, one with white hair and one with mocha brown hair and dark gold eyes. Once he heard Mykelti hiss, he turned his gaze to the purple haired woman.

The twins glared at her, when all of a sudden, a teenager grabbed them from behind. He forced open their mouths before pouring a liquid down their throats, making Mykelti cough and gag. He cursed his strong gag reflex as he watched Murad struggle but not choke as badly as the older twin had.

He looked at Murad, reassuring the boy, making sure he didn't freak out. Once the teenager let go of him, he stumbled over to his brother and sat next to him. He reached out to comfort him, they would be fine.

But no.

That wasn't true.

Instead, he had pathetically fallen to the floor on his way to his brother. He had hit the ground hard. He had felt the world spin out of control. He couldn't move his body, he couldn't talk. He had been affected faster than his brother, who had called out to him through a slurred voice.

His eyes shut.

...

He woke up to see a familiar looking face hovering over him. The bright red hair, the matching red eyes, the lightly tanned skin. But suddenly, his sight cleared as he stared blankly. It was a Fanalis, but not his brother. The child was smaller but had more muscle tone, not to mention his eyes were different. Something that set him apart from them. The eyes of a true warrior.

"Who are you?" He croaked, voice still scratchy from sleep. He cleared his throat before repeating his question and saying another one. "And where is Mur?"

The child looked at him strangely, quiet for a while. "Masrur."

" **Where** is **Mur**?" He asked, rising from the floor into a low stance in preparation to pounce. Masrur stood up, causing his chains to jingle. Mykelti's eyes dropped to the weights on his chains. _They were bigger than his..._

"Probably with the others." Masrur said. Mykelti noticed the child didn't seem to like talking, a lot like him. He didn't stop glaring at Masrur but he did raise from his battle stance to stand straight. He smirked when he noticed he was taller but quickly masked it.

"What... Why am I here? In fact, where am I?" He didn't want to have to rely on this boy but there was nobody else in this strange room. He noticed the armour and swords that littered the room and briefly wondered if the mounted beast head was real or not.

"The coliseum." Masrur stated. Mykelti's eyes widened.

"Coliseum?"

"You're going to fight." Masrur said blankly, moving to a corner of the room and picking up a huge sword. He didn't seem bothered about the sword was easily three times his size. "You should warm up because you probably haven't something like this."

Mykelti was about to say the joke wasn't funny until he saw the child do a few experimental swings of his weapon. The child was fast, even with the added weights on him and the gigantic blade in his hands.

So, Mykelti took his word for it and stretched while trying to pick a weapon. His eyes darted to the guard at the door before trying to formulate an escape plan. He could take a weapon, get rid of the guard and run. Who was stupid enough to only leave one guard with a Fanalis?

"Is there any more armour in our size?" Masrur nodded and pointed at a cupboard. Mykelti went and grabbed a set of gold armour to match Masrur's. Glancing around, his eyes landed on a war hammer. With that, he could knock someone out without killing them if he was gentle.

A grin broke out on his face. Masrur stared blankly before looking away.

...

He couldn't believe that it worked. He sprinted out the doors, feet pounding against the concrete as he escaped from the coliseum. The guards were yelling as they chased after him but he knew it was no use. The Fanalis were naturally stronger than the average human. He should have been at the speed of any regular adult man, if his estimate was correct. A laugh escaped him as he ducked into an alley and watched the men run past.

But no.

That wasn't true.

Not true at all.

He hadn't even brought the hammer down before the plan was in ruins. He had lifted the weapon above his head, ready to knock out the unfocused guard. But just as he was adjusting his strength so he hopefully wouldn't kill him, he felt strong hands wrench the weapon away before he was knocked to the ground.

He had reached out helplessly to grab the hammer before a weight settled on his chest, causing him to wince. He looked up to see Masrur, foot on his chest to pin him down. The boy's eyes were still blank, like he didn't seem to care at all about how he knocked over someone bigger than him.

"What are you doing?" Masrur asked, eyes darting to the weapon, to the guard who had jumped in surprise at the noise and then back to Mykelti's face.

"I was trying to escape." He responded to the younger child's question, glaring as he managed to push the grimy foot off his armour.

"Not yet." Mykelti didn't speak, he just raised a bushy eyebrow, asking Masrur his question without even saying a word. "Maader won't be happy. Your twin will be in danger."

"How do you kn-"

"It happened before."

They stared at each other heatedly for a long time. No words were shared, just the silence that was filled with a battle of authority. Mykelti turned around, scrunching up his nose in annoyance.

"Where do I go?"

"Follow me."

...

The coliseum was huge. At least, to a child like him, it felt way too big for him to stand in alone. He had hoped that just maybe, that Masrur kid would be fighting him so he could show him who's boss. For someone even slightly shorter, he should act less superior.

Back to the point, he was marvelling at the size when he heard a deep grumble. He turned to face a huge lion with a stripy mane, probably a mutation through magic. The beast had crawled slowly towards him, peering at him as if to understand him.

He didn't give it a chance to find out what it was looking for. He had charged, knocking the lion to the side with his hammer and sending a death glare at the monster, prepared for the fight.

But no.

That wasn't true.

He had been so startled that at first he didn't move. The crowd was screaming, most of them for the lion to tear him to shreds, the minority for him to show the beast his Fanalis strength. His hands gripped the handle of his weapon tighter, suddenly feeling the weight dragging him down. How is he supposed to fight when he can barely lift his arms?

He was snapped back to reality when he was knocked upwards, sent flying into the sky. He gasped in sudden pain, tears springing to his eyes before he pushed them back.

He couldn't cry. He was the strong child.

He had to stay that way.

Snapping out of the teary mood, he looked down to assess the area. He lifted the hammer as he fell back down, feeling the wind in his hair as gravity tried to stop him from his task. He kept the hammer above his head.

Falling...

Falling...

Falling...

 _Crunch!_

The resounding noise as he brought the hammer down on the lion's head was sickening. He immediately felt his arms shake as he fell back to his butt on the ground. The lion was done, no way it was alive after its skull made that sound.

The crowd erupted in cheers but he felt disgusted.

He had killed it.

...

Masrur had won his match, another sickening victory. He had watched, utterly still, as the battle had progressed. The purple haired man (Boy? Young adult? He had no clue.) had seemed to be winning and Mykelti believed that until he had heard the crunching and cracking as the Fanalis' fist met the dungeon capturer's ribcage. He was out for the count after that, slumped to the floor with obviously a few broken ribs.

Well, obvious to him, nobody else believed it was that bad until the healers said so. Apparently, only the Fanalis boys and the man himself heard the sound and Mykelti thought he must just have very good hearing.

The man was chained and enslaved, giving Mykelti more reason to want to viciously attack Maader.

But no.

That was only _partially_ true.

He had other priorities.

His hands had gone red again from the amount of washing he had done in the hot water. He couldn't get rid of the fact that he had killed something, human or not. As a Fanalis, battle was in his blood, but as Myke, Mur's older brother, killing was rarely justified. His hands had gone red as his hair, his eyes gone as cold as the washing water that had cooled over the hour and his heart ached. Oh, did it ache. He needed Murad to comfort him with his boyish smiles and gentle nature.

Mur? Are you all right?

I have a friend, I guess. I'm okay. I'll survive this.

But no.

Is that true?

Will it ever be true?

 **A/N:** **This chapter is focused on the Fanalis twins but mainly on the older twin, Mykelti. A recurring part of this chapter is how Myke always lies to himself to see a better world but towards the end he starts to question this way of thinking. Some more of the manga was introduced in this chapter, Masrur was introduced while Sinbad was mentioned.**

 **Next chapter is going to focus more on Mur as well as the other children. Emuishere will appear again and the reason the twins were separated will be revealed.**

 **This was meant to be a onetime thing but I sort of like it. I'll keep updating this every once in a while.**


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